Southern Musical and Religious O

Bible Belt Religion (Spring 2013)

Religious Studies 530-001/635

Professor John Schmalzbauer

Office: Strong Hall 263

Phone: 836-5918

In recent years, journalists and scholars have written about the divide between “red states” and “blue states,” conservative evangelicals and liberal secularists, bi-coastal elites and “Middle America.” Much of this discourse has focused on the conservative religious and political orientation of the American South and Midwest. While many treatments of “red state” conservatism have been based on regional and religious stereotypes, the heightened focus on geographical divisions has raised important questions about the relationship between religion and place. In an effort to bring scholarly rigor to the discussion, this course focuses on two aspects of American religious life: 1) Evangelical Protestantism; and 2) Region. Drawing on the fields of American religious history and the sociology/anthropology of religion it focuses on the evolution and development of evangelical Protestantism in the South, the Midwest, and Southern California. It will also explore the invention of the “Bible Belt” and “evangelicalism” as cultural constructs.

In this course, you will:

Learn about the origins and development of the “Bible Belt” as a region and an idea
Explore the history and sociology of evangelicalism in the South, Midwest, and West
Understand the relationship between religion and race in Southern evangelicalism
Investigate the role of conservative evangelical religion in the Ozarks
Understand the religious background to contemporary divisions in American politics

Required Readings

1) Paul Harvey, Moses, Jesus and the Trickster in the Evangelical South (University of Georgia Press, 2012).

2) Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism (W.W. Norton, 2011).

3) Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics (Princeton University Press, 2000).

4) T.M. Luhrmann, When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God (Knopf, 2012).

5) D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite (Oxford University Press, 2007).

6) William Lindsey and Mark Silk, Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads: Showdown States (AltaMira Press, 2004)

Web Readings and Handouts: These are an essential part of the class.

Attendance Policy: Attendance is required at all class meetings. Participation grades will be penalized for excessive absences.

Class Participation (25 points): Students will be evaluated on their participation in class discussions, familiarity with the readings, and the quality of their comments.

Reflection Paragraphs (75 points): Several times in the semester, students will be asked to write a paragraph reflecting on the readings. This is an opportunity for the instructor to see how students are processing the readings. It is also an opportunity for students to express their opinions. They will be graded on the extent to which they show familiarity with the readings and for their thoughtfulness.

Paper #1: (150 Points) Analysis of Primary Sources

Students will write a 6-8 page paper analyzing 3-5 primary sources from a local archive. The sources must relate to Darren Dochuk’s From Bible Belt to Sunbelt. Local collections may be found at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, John Brown University, Baptist Bible College, Harding University, Missouri State University and other area institutions. Some collections are digitized. Other sources are available on the internet. The goal of the paper will be to relate the sources to the historical terrain explored by Dochuk. Due Wednesday February 20 in class. See separate handout. Graduate student papers should be 9-11 pages long and draw on 5-6 primary sources.

Paper #2: (150 Points) Ozarks Church Observation Papers

Students will write a 6-8 page paper based on observations of a local Baptist or charismatic church service. The goal of the paper will be to relate first-hand observations and impressions to the ethnographic accounts presented in Susan Harding’s The Book of Jerry Falwell and T.M. Luhrmann’s When God Talks Back. Due Wednesday April 3 in class. See separate handout. Graduate student papers should be 9-11 pages long and focus on two congregations.

Examinations (600 points total; 300 points each): There will be two examinations in this course. They will follow a short answer and essay format.

Total Number of Points: 1,000

The following grading scale will be used:

4.0 A: Outstanding Work (93-100)

3.7 A- : Excellent Work (90-92)

3.3 B+: Near Excellent Work (87-89)

3.0 B: Very Good Work (83-86)

2.7 B-: Good Work (80-82)

2.3 C+: Slightly Above Satisfactory Work (77-79)

2.0 C: Satisfactory Work (73-76)

1.7 C-: Slightly Below Satisfactory Work (70-72)

1.3 D+: Passing Work (67-69)

1.0 D: Minimum Passing Work (63-66)

0.0 F: Failed—No Credit (0-62)

0.0 I: Incomplete

Your performance in this class will be graded using the plus/minus system. If a student is on the border of a grade, the instructor will take into consideration the overall performance of the student, class participation, and amount of improvement.

Academic Honesty Policy: Missouri State University is a community of scholars committed to developing educated persons who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. You are responsible for knowing and following the university’s student honor code, Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures and also available at the Reserves Desk in Meyer Library. Any student participating in any form of academic dishonesty will be subject to sanctions as described in this policy.

Non-Discrimination Policy: Missouri State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, and maintains a grievance procedure available to any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against. At all times, it is your right to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to the Office for Institutional Equity and Compliance, Park Central Office Building, 117 Park Central Square, Suite 111, (417) 836-4252. Other types of concerns (i.e., concerns of an academic nature) should be discussed directly with your instructor and can also be brought to the attention of your instructor’s Department Head. Please visit the OED website at www.missouristate.edu/equity/.

Policy on Disability Accommodations: To request academic accommodations for a disability, contact the Director of the Disability Resource Center, Plaster Student Union, Suite 405, (417) 836-4192 or (417) 836-6792 (TTY), www.missouristate.edu/disability. Students are required to provide documentation of disability to the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations. The Disability Resource Center refers some types of accommodation requests to the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, which also provides diagnostic testing for learning and psychological disabilities. For information about testing, contact the Director of the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, (417) 836-4787, http://psychology.missouristate.edu/ldc.

Cell Phone Policy: As a member of the learning community, each student has a responsibility to other students who are members of the community. When cell phones or pagers ring and students respond in class or leave class to respond, it disrupts the class. Therefore, the Office of the Provost prohibits the use by students of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, or similar communication devices during scheduled classes. All such devices must be turned off or put in a silent (vibrate) mode and ordinarily should not be taken out during class. Given the fact that these same communication devices are an integral part of the University’s emergency notification system, an exception to this policy would occur when numerous devices activate simultaneously. When this occurs, students may consult their devices to determine if a university emergency exists. If that is not the case, the devices should be immediately returned to silent mode and put away. Other exceptions to this policy may be granted at the discretion of the instructor.

Dropping this Class: It is your responsibility to understand the University’s procedure for dropping a class. If you stop attending this class but do not follow proper procedure for dropping the class, you will receive a failing grade and will also be financially obligated to pay for the class. For information about dropping a class or withdrawing from the university, contact the Office of the Registrar at 836-5520.

Religion at a State University: Consistent with Supreme Court decisions regarding the teaching of religion at public institutions (Abington v. Schempp 1963), this course approaches the study of religion from a non-confessional standpoint. We will focus on describing and analyzing the place of religion in American culture, rather than arguing for one religious tradition or another. Students are free to express or not to express their own beliefs in class.

Office Hours for Professor Schmalzbauer: Mondays and Wednesdays 3-4:30 p.m.; and Thursdays 10:00 a.m.-12 noon in Strong Hall 263 (Religious Studies Department).

I. Imagining the Bible Belt, Imagining Evangelicalism

Monday January 14: Introductions

Wednesday January 16: Defining “Bible Belt,” “South,” and “Heartland”

Reading: John Shelton Reed, “The South: Where is It? What is It?”

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/REED/tears.html

Reading: Stanley Brunn, Gerald Webster, and J. Clark Archer, “The Bible Belt in a Changing South: Shrinking, Relocating, and Multiple Buckles.”

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/southeastern_geographer/v051/51.4.brunn.html (Click on PDF)

Reading: James Shortridge, “The Heartland’s Role in U.S. Culture: It’s Main Street.”

http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/public-perspective/ppscan/94/94040.pdf

Wednesday January 18: Defining “Evangelical” and “Evangelicalism”

Reading: Larry Eskridge, “Defining Evangelicalism.” Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals.

http://www.wheaton.edu/ISAE/Defining-Evangelicalism (Click on all the links)

Reading: Timothy Beal, “Among the Evangelicals.”

http://chronicle.com/article/Among-the-Evangelicals/125647/

Reading: Lyman Kellstedt, John Green, James Guth, and Corwin Smidt, “Evangelicalism.”

http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/evan.htm

Monday January 21: Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

Wednesday January 23: “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”

Reading: Thomas Frank, “Lie Down for America,” from Harpers.

http://www.wesjones.com/frank1.htm

Film: What’s the Matter with Kansas?

Friday January 25: Red State Religion—Interrogating the Frank Thesis

Reading: “Red State Religion: An Interview with Robert Wuthnow.”

http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/06/27/red-state-religion-an-interview-with-robert-wuthnow/

Reading: Gary Entz, “Religion in Kansas.”

http://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2005summer_entz.pdf

Monday January 28: Narratives of the Evangelical South

Reading: Paul Harvey, Moses, Jesus, and the Trickster in the Evangelical South, 1-53.

Wednesday January 30: Slavery and Freedom in the Evangelical South

Reading: Paul Harvey, Moses, Jesus, and the Trickster in the Evangelical South, 54-95.

Friday February 1: Jesus in the Evangelical South

Reading: Paul Harvey, Moses, Jesus, and the Trickster in the Evangelical South, 96-157.

II. Route 66 Evangelicalism

Monday February 4: From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, Part I

Reading: Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, ix-26.

Wednesday February 6: From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, Part II

Reading: Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, 27-76.

Friday February 8: From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, Part III

Reading; Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, 77-137.

Monday February 11: From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, Part IV

Reading: Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, 139-222.

Wednesday February 13: From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, Part V

Reading: Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, 223-292.

Friday February 15: From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, Part VI

Reading: Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, 293-361.

Wednesday February 20: From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, Part VII

Reading: Darren Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt, 362-409.

Friday February 22: Bringing Dochuk Back Home

Bring primary sources to class. They should relate to Dochuk’s book and make use of local collections (Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, John Brown University, etc.).

**Primary Sources Paper Due Today**

III. Fundamentalism, Politics, and the Biblical Narrative

Monday February 25: Jerry Falwell and American Politics, Part I

Reading: Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, ix-82.

Wednesday February 27: Jerry Falwell and American Politics, Part II

Reading: Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 85-152.

Friday March 1: Jerry Falwell and American Politics, Part III

Reading: Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 153-209.

Monday March 4: Jerry Falwell and American Politics, Part IV

Reading: Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 210-269.

Wednesday March 6: Fundamentalism and the Biblical Narrative

Reading: Susan Friend Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 270-276.

Reading: William Placher, “Hans Frei and the Meaning of Biblical Narrative.”

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=15

Friday March 8: Examination #1

IV. Evangelicalism and Religious Experience

Monday March 18: Experiencing God, Part I

Reading: T.M. Luhrmann, When God Talks Back, xi-71.

Wednesday March 20: Experiencing God, Part II

Reading: T.M. Luhrmann, When God Talks Back, 72-156.

Friday March 22: Experiencing God, Part III

Reading: T.J. Luhrmann, When God Talks Back, 157-226.

Monday March 25: Experiencing God, Part IV

Reading: T.M. Luhrmann, When God Talks Back, 227-299

Wednesday March 27: Experiencing God, Part V

Reading: T.M. Luhrmann, When God Talks Back, 300-325.

Monday April 1: Making Sense of Luhrmann

Reading: Mark Noll, “A Close Look at How Evangelicals Communicate with God.”

http://www.tnr.com/print/article/magazine/books-and-arts/106464/when-god-talks-back-vineyard-evangelical-church

Reading: Molly Worthen, “A Great Awakening.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/books/review/when-god-talks-back-by-tm-luhrmann.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Reading: “When God Talks Back: An Interview with T.M. Luhrmann.”

http://www.patheos.com/Books/Book-Club/T-M-Luhrmann-When-God-Talks-Back/God-Talks-Back-An-Interview-with-TM-Luhrmann-Joseph-Gorra-04-18-2012.html?print=1

Wednesday April 3: Exploring Baptist and Charismatic Churches in the Ozarks

**Ozarks Church Observation Papers Due Today**

V. Cosmopolitan and Populist Evangelicals

Friday April 5: Evangelicals in the American Elite, Part I

Reading: D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power, xi-37.

Monday April 8: Evangelicals in the American Elite, Part II

Reading: D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power, 38-71.

Wednesday April 10: Evangelicals in the American Elite, Part III

Reading: D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power, 75-113.

Friday April 12: Evangelicals in the American Elite, Part IV

Reading: D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power, 117-157.

Monday April 15: Evangelicals in the American Elite, Part V

Reading: D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power, 161-207.

Wednesday April 17: Evangelicals in the American Elite, Part VI

Reading: D. Michael Lindsay, Faith in the Halls of Power, 208-231.

Friday April 19: Thomas Kinkade and Populist Evangelicalism

Reading: Randall Balmer, “The Kinkade Crusade.”

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/december4/6.48.html?paging=off

Reading: S. Brent Plate, “Cozy Cottage or House on Fire?”

www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/5885/cozy_cottage_or_house_on_fire_thomas_kinkade%E2%80%99s_theo-aesthetic_legacy

Monday April 22: Chick-fil-A and Populist Evangelicalism, Part I

Reading: Darren E. Grem, “The Marketplace Missions of S. Truett Cathy and Chick-fil-A.”

**Evening Lecture by Darren Grem, Carrington 208 at 7:30 p.m.**

Wednesday April 24: Chick-fil-A and Populist Evangelicalism, Part II

Reading: Darren E. Grem, “Chicken Sandwich.”

http://freq.uenci.es/2011/12/23/chicken-sandwich/

Reading: Darren E. Grem, “A PSA on CFA.”

http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-psa-on-cfa.html

Reading: Drake Bennett, “Chick-fil-A: Deep Fried Civil War.”

http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/65182-chick-fil-a-deep-fried-civil-war

Friday

VI. Religion in the Southern Crossroads States

Friday April 26: Religion in the Southern Crossroads, Part I

Reading: William Lindsey, “Introduction: At the Crossroads,” in Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads, 9-22.

Reading: Bill Leonard, “In the Southern Crossroads: Religion and Demography,” in Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads, 23-53.

Monday April 29: Religion in the Southern Crossroads, Part II

Reading: Andrew Manis, “Protestants: From Denominational Controversialists to Culture Warriors,” in Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads, 55-77.

Wednesday May 1: Religion in the Southern Crossroads, Part III

Reading: Jane Harris, “Holiness and Pentecostal Traditions: Making the Spirit Count,” in Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads, 79-102.

Friday May 3: Religion in the Southern Crossroads, Part IV

Reading: Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, “African-American and Native American Religious Folk: Down But Not Out,” in Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads, 127-159.

Monday May 6: Evaluating the Religion by Region Project

Reading: Nancy Ammerman, “Local Color: American Religion, Region by Region.”

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3285

Wednesday May 8: Red or Blue? Analyzing Ozarks Religious and Political Data

Bring religious and political data on an Ozarks county to class today. Professor Schmalzbauer will provide a worksheet for you to fill out. Each student should pick a different county.

**Final Examination: Wednesday May 15, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Strong 409**